Progression of monoaminergic dysfunction in Parkinson's disease: A longitudinal 18F-dopa PET study

► First longitudinal study of disease progression in extrastriatal areas in PD. ► Loss of extrastriatal monoamine neurons occurs later than nigrostriatal degeneration. ► Brain compensatory adaptive mechanisms are lost within first few years of disease. ► Hypothalamus targeted at early stages of the disease with a fast progression rate. ► 18F-dopa PET can be used to assess disease progression in extrastriatal areas.